TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
107 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Tyro.- —Pepper of commerce is obtained from the Piper nigrum; it is 
a native of the East Indies, and is cultivated there much in the manner of 
our hops. There are above forty species of Piper, most of them succulent, 
herbaceous plants, furnished with large fleshy leaves; the flowers are, 
individually, very inconspicuous, the entire genus being usually regarded 
rather as a vegetable curiosity, than as ornamental plants; they may be 
grown readily in peat and loam; with a stove temperature. 
Subscriber.— It is far less trouble to split off the new shoots of Chrysan¬ 
themums already rooted, than to strike cuttings of them, and the result is 
nearly equal; it is only necessary to stop them early, and allow them suffi¬ 
cient space, to ensure handsome plants. 
An Amateur. —Fix a piece of glass horizontally over the pods of tulip 
seed, and you will have no difficulty in ripening them. 
X._The following are highly ornamental half-hardy annuals that should 
be grown to enliven the conservatory through the summer months : Portu- 
lacea splendens, P. Thellusonii, Browallia elata, Humea elegans, Mesem- 
brianthemum pyropseum, Celosia cristata, Schizanthus Hookerii, S. pinnatus, 
Clintonia pulchella, Mimosa sensitiva, together with Balsams in varieties. 
J. F. — We do not see any thing remarkably fine among the Cinerarias 
sent. 
T. Z._Your seedling Auricula is rich in colour, but unfortunately defi¬ 
cient of “ paste,” as it is called ; the white portion should have more substance, 
and be of equal width with the edging. 
O._Nos. 2 and 7 of your Cinerarias are decided acquisitions; they are 
large flowers of superior shape and brilliant colours; the quilled varieties^ 
are not to our taste; we are anxious rather to obtain broad petals than these 
narrow incurved ones. 
LITERARY NOTICES. 
The Gardener’s Receipt Book, by W. Jones, Gardener 
to J. Lawrence, Esq , Beddington, Surrey. London ; R. Groom- 
bridge Sons. — This is a collection of above a hundred recipes 
for the destruction of insects and vermin injurious to the garden, 
and the preservation of other matters connected with it. The 
utility of such a book for reference and consultation at the 
moment when a remedy is required, is self-apparent; the value 
of it, of course, depending on the effectiveness of the recipe 
proposed: and here the author tells us, he has either personal 
experience, or that of his friends, as to the certainty of all 
contained in his book, though he very properly remarks that 
